


Retribution

by fmlyhntr, jamelia116, Voyager_Virtual Season_7-5_Staff_Writers (jamelia116)



Series: Voyager Virtual Season 7.5 [23]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Rape Aftermath, Space Battles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 11:09:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20257132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fmlyhntr/pseuds/fmlyhntr, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamelia116/pseuds/jamelia116, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamelia116/pseuds/Voyager_Virtual%20Season_7-5_Staff_Writers
Summary: Voyager emerges from slipsteam to find themselves drawn into a civil war with potentially galactic ramifications.Warning: offstage violence and rape.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Paramount (Viacom/CBS) own the rights to the Star Trek universe. We only borrow the characters to bring them on new adventures from time to time. We make no claims of ownership to any of the canon characters, but from time to time, we come up with original characters. Christina and Sara, who were the primary writers of this episode, created many for this story.
> 
> We also must acknowledge Sara, who was a staff member of the Voyager Virtual Season 7.5 group, for her contributions to this episode. Thank you, Sara.

** _Warning: This story deals with violence and rape--but offstage._ **

**Prologue: One Year Ago**  
  
General Stuit of the Soman Democratic Union military High Command hated late night summons. They were always bad news: a military raid by Imperial troops, or a full out attack on one of the Rebel bases. Just once, he'd like to be awakened and told that the _firamenta_ flowers were in bloom. He was still buttoning his jacket as he rushed into the tactical room of his ship and looked around expectantly. The single ensign standing duty looked up.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"High Commander Molán just contacted me. Why aren't we at Vigil Status?"  
  
"I was not so informed, sir. Should I initiate the alert?"  
  
"Relax," a new voice said. The six-foot tall Soman entered. High Commander Molán was shorter than many of their species, but he still managed to ooze power. "I didn't mean to startle you." He motioned for the ensign to leave.  
  
Stuit accepted the apology, even without believing it. "What is it, sir?"  
  
"A surprise." Molán smiled. "Our agents found it several days ago. Most exciting." Stuit shook his head as he looked at the data screen.  
  
"I don't understand. We're heading away from the rendezvous site."  
  
"That we are, General." Molán walked further into the room. "I've changed my mind. We will not negotiate with the Emperor. We will win this war and reclaim what is rightfully ours."  
  
"Sir?" Stuit wondered how Molán could forget the threat that had brought on these negotiations in the first place. He was wondering just what Molán had found when the sensors beeped. Stuit gritted his teeth as he read the information. "Sir, there's a Borg cube straight ahead." They had to leave before the Borg noticed them or they would be captured. He would be held responsible if the High Commander was assimilated. "We _MUST_ leave, sir." He started to reach for the alarm, even as he speculated why they had come here in the first place.  
  
Molán laughed and placed a hand on Stuit's shoulder. "Isn't it exciting? And it's ours. Don't worry; all the Borg on it are dead."  
  
"Dead? Excellent." Stuit finally had something to smile about. The Borg had only recently made their way into Soman space. The threat they represented had been enough to bring the two warring factions to the negotiating table. "We must return to the rendezvous. The knowledge of how this thing was destroyed must be shared."  
  
"You don't understand, but you will. Go back to bed and dream of my ascension to power." Molán smiled. "I'll explain everything. Until tomorrow, General."  
  
The high commissioner left, leaving General Stuit alone. He stared at the Borg cube. The fear of these new aliens had been enough to bring about a truce in the Soman's one-hundred year old civil war.  
  
Now it looked like the Borg threat had somehow been neutralized, which was good news, except for the fact that they were once more heading back to a state of open war. Stuit sighed, then frowned.  
  
Six months earlier, he'd arrived three days after the Borg had attacked the colony world of Donoce. The memory of what he'd seen and heard as they'd investigated still brought nightmares. The few survivors told a grisly story of these monsters and a process called assimilation.  
  
Molán was a direct descendant of the first Emperor and had every right to claim the throne. But did that right include using technology from a Borg ship? There was no other explanation that fit Molán's interest in the cube.  
  
Could he, Stuit, justify using such horrific weaponry against his own people?  
  
#  
  
**The Present**  
  
"Exiting slipstream in five, four, three, two, one." The ship shuddered, and _Voyager_ glided back into real space. Their two-minute journey was done.  
  
"All stop," Janeway said. "Maintain yellow alert."  
  
"Aye, Captain," Tuvok said.  
  
She hated this part. It would be several minutes before the scanners would work reliably, and about an hour before the rest of the ship's systems were restored to their previous status. Fortunately, they weren't defenseless. Since their first attempt at slipstream had seen them exit completely blind and vulnerable, they'd since worked out a way of ensuring they'd be able to keep weapons and shields at full power. However, it was at the expense of multiple secondary systems and even some primary ones.  
  
"Captain," Harry said a minute later. "I'm detecting a ship straight ahead."  
  
"On screen," Chakotay said. The image of a small cruiser appeared. It had clearly sustained heavy damage and was just drifting in space.  
  
"Captain," Tuvok said, "It appears that most of the alien ship's systems are not operational, and life support appears to be failing. Since the ship is of unknown design, however, they could possess technology that masks their biosigns."  
  
"Hail them!" Janeway said. Every time they used the slipstream, they found themselves in an unfamiliar area of the Delta Quadrant, complete with unfamiliar aliens, but this was the first time they'd met any vessels immediately after their jump.  
  
"No response," Harry responded. "Trying alternate frequencies." There was a short pause, before the lieutenant spoke again. "Still no response. "  
  
"Life signs?" Chakotay asked as he returned the captain's glance.  
  
"Negative," Harry said. "Sensors show eleven bodies, humanoid. Wait. I am detecting one weak life sign. Female."  
  
Janeway hesitated. Normally, she would send an away team, but with so many of _Voyager's_ systems down for another hour, she didn't want to take any action that would pose a risk to her crew.

"Beam her directly to Sickbay." Janeway stood to face her Vulcan security chief. "Commander, have a security team meet our guest. Scan the area. Someone attacked that ship, and I have no intention of being surprised."  
  
Chakotay asked, "Are there any other ships in the immediate area?"  
  
"Not at the moment, Commander. But I'm detecting..." Harry sounded perplexed. "Captain, the energy discharges and scorings on the derelict ship's hull are almost a perfect match for Borg weapon signatures."  
  
Almost?" She walked over to look at his console. "I see what you mean. It looks like someone may be using modified Borg phasers." She swore softly.  
  
"Borg?" Tom said, "We haven't run into any signs of them for a very long time."  
  
Harry responded, "Not since we faced off against the Queen's armada nearly a year ago."  
  
"I'll be in Sickbay," Janeway said. "Maybe our guest can tell us more." She paused and turned back to Chakotay. "You have the bridge, Commander."  
  
Tuvok followed Janeway off the bridge. Neither spoke as they made their way to Sickbay. Ayala, standing guard outside, nodded and silently watched them as they entered Sickbay. Kathryn received a distinct impression he did not want to follow them inside the room.  
  
Entering through the doors, she noticed two more security guards, Rollins and Murphy, were on the far side of the room and looked pretty miserable as well. "Report?" Even the doctor looked shocked. "Doctor?"  
  
"She's unconscious..."  
  
Janeway acknowledged the fact with a nod. "Can you wake her? We need to find out what happened."  
  
The doctor picked up a tricorder. "My patient has suffered severe trauma and blood loss. It is not in her best interest to be awakened."

Janeway glanced at the patient, a young female alien with long mauve hair. As the Doctor continued his examination of his patient, Janeway could see bruises on the girl's face and what she thought must be blood seeping through the blanket covering her.  
  
She hated to ask, but she had no choice; they needed answers. "Doctor, it is imperative that we speak to her immediately."  
  
He shook his head. "Aside from the injuries you can see for yourself, there is also severe bruising and lacerations indicative of forced sexual penetration."  
  
"Will she survive?"  
  
"I believe she will recover physically, Captain. However, before I provide any treatments, I'd like permission to beam over one of the bodies on board. Her physiology appears to be similar to humans, but I would like to perform an autopsy on one of the other victims. It would also help determine just what may have happened on that ship."  
  
For the first time, Janeway looked closely at the young alien female. She didn't look very old. By human standards, she was attractive.

"Do it, Doctor." She looked down at the metal devices and tubing attached at the end of each arm. "Doctor, her hands?"  
  
"They were severed." He motioned for Ensign Gallagher to come over. "Ensign, prepare a hypo of solurobenditol."  
  
"Keep me informed of her condition, Doctor," Janeway said and turned to leave. Tuvok followed her, but once the Sickbay doors closed behind them, he stopped to give orders to Ayala, who nodded while he listened to his commanding officer but remained silent.  
  
"Captain, are you all right?" Tuvok asked quietly as he reached her and waited for the lift.  
  
"Is it that obvious?" She took a deep breath as she entered the lift. "What is really happening here? Are we confronting another band of renegade Borg drones, or has some other group obtained these weapons?"  
  
As soon as the turbolift opened onto the bridge, she demanded, "Report."  
  
Chakotay responded, "Sensors are back at full strength. So far, we're not detecting up any other ships in this area."  
  
Janeway turned to the Ops station. "Harry, do you have anything more about that disabled ship or who could have attacked it?"  
  
"There isn't any evidence of a transwarp trail." He displayed the paths on the screen. " Further analysis suggests the attack occurred about an hour ago."  
  
"Any chance this was done by a Borg ship?" This was not the behavior of the Collective, but months ago, _Voyager’s_ crew learned that freed drones could be cruel.  
  
"I don't think so, Captain." Harry paused for a second. "Only the weapons' signatures are similar. It looks more like Borg tech has been added to a non-Borg ship."  
  
Janeway nodded. "Can we tow that ship with us? Someone will want to know what happened to its passengers."  
  
"Negative. The warp core is badly damaged. It probably won't last much longer," Harry replied.  
  
"Any idea where this ship came from?" she asked.  
  
"Sensors indicate a star system less than three light years away. The third and fourth planets are M class and are populated," Chakotay said from his chair.  
  
"Then that's where we'll begin. The Doctor is beaming a corpse from that ship into the morgue to complete an autopsy, but whoever her people are, they should be able to provide better to her than we can. Tom, set a course." She walked down to her chair but did not sit down. "Maintain yellow alert and run continuous scans. Commander, you have the bridge. I'll be in my Ready Room."  
  
Chakotay studied her for a split second as he acknowledged her as she passed off the bridge. Checking the sensor data showing on the arm of his chair, he informed the crew, "The Doctor has finished transporting one of the bodies on board _Voyager_."  
  
From the helm, Tom said, "Course laid in, Commander."  
  
Chakotay nodded. "Ahead Warp 2, Mr. Paris. Don't exceed the parameters for Slipstream recovery."  
  
  



	2. Act 1

  
**Act 1**  
  
The Bridge had grown silent as the ship went to warp. Each officer was busy. Tuvok was attempting to track the path of the damaged vessel, while Harry was performing the scans for supplies when they first dropped out of the slipstream. Tom was watching their course closely. Chakotay, for his part, studied the reports that were trickling in from the various departments and answered calls from B'Elanna every few minutes; Voyager's chief engineer was not happy at the deviation from her slipstream protocols.  
  
B'Elanna was right, Chakotay told himself. Now, instead of an hour, it would be two or three before the ship had recovered. They should not be expending this kind of energy, but given the circumstances, he didn't see any way to avoid it. As he logged out of the tactical console, his eyes wandered toward the Ready Room door.  
  
Kathryn had been very pale when she'd returned to the bridge. Curious as to what could have turned his captain so ashen, Chakotay logged into the Medical Officer's console and read the Doctor's preliminary report. The atrocities that had been carried out on the young woman shocked him. It gave rise to feelings that he'd thought long buried. Shoving them aside, he turned the bridge over to Tuvok and headed toward the Ready Room.  
  
He entered to find Kathryn standing by her view port.  
  
"What do you have, Commander?" she asked. Her gaze never the left the view port.  
  
Chakotay noted her level of tension at a glance and moved toward the replicator; _Redilian_ green tea was just the thing. She didn't turn during his entire monologue on intermediate sensor data, nor when he set the steaming cup on a low table near the view port. But when he rested his hands on her shoulders, gently kneading them, she sighed deeply and leaned into him for a moment.  
  
"Continue monitoring the situation," she finally said, turning towards him and smiling her thanks.  
  
Chakotay eyed her warmly. "Aye." Their eyes locked and he moved minutely closer. "I read the Doctor's report," he said softly.  
  
She shook her head sadly. "The attacked her and sliced off her hands. And they have access to Borg weapons." She closed her eyes.  
  
"The attack was over long before we were close enough to help them. Don't beat yourself up over what you couldn't prevent."  
  
Kathryn nodded. "How do you know? Perhaps we should have found another way to destroy the Borg--one that didn't leave Borg technology lying about..."  
  
"You don't know for sure..."  
  
"We don't? A Borg ship stopped by and offered the technology?"  
  
"If the Borg were here, then these people are damn lucky they weren't assimilated."  
  
"True.” She sighed heavily, " Continue monitoring our recovery from the slipstream."  
  
Chakotay noted the somber determination in her eyes and nodded in agreement. "I'll take care of it. Anything else?"  
  
Kathryn gave him a small grin. "Maybe a smile."  
  
Chakotay's answering smile brought out his dimples. "I can do better than that." Leaning closer he wrapped his arms around her and placed a tender kiss on her lips. He pulled away, leaving a second kiss on her forehead. "You going to be okay?"  
  
Kathryn squeezed his hand before picking up the cup of tea and heading for her desk. "I will be. Thanks for asking."  
  
Chakotay nodded as he crossed toward the door. "Any time. See you on the Bridge?"  
  
Kathryn nodded already focusing her attention on the data on her terminal. "I'll be there in another few moments. And Chakotay?"  
  
He paused as the door opened.  
  
Kathryn glanced up only for a moment before looking back at the screen. "We will find them."  
  
"Aye, Captain."  
  
#  
  
"Doctor, I have completed my analysis."  
  
The Doctor looked up from his work and gave the young ex-Borg a questioning look. "Well?"  
  
Icheb cocked his head and moved confidently to the computer. "We shall need access to the replicator systems."

Trish Gallagher glanced at the woman, then back at the two men, finally she had to leave. She got no further than the door. She just leaned against it.  
  
The Doctor nodded. "Prepare a list of materials. We'll present it, along with our findings, to the Captain." The replicator system was just one of many that were offline until Voyager recovered from the energy drain caused by using the slipstream tech. Although they would have to get special permission, he didn't anticipate any problems getting it.  
  
Icheb nodded. "I have done so." He picked up a PADD. "Here you are. I will be in the lab until you need me."  
  
"Excellent. Thank you for your assistance." The Doctor glanced at his still-comatose patient. He was perfectly capable of replicating the required prosthetics, but Icheb's knowledge offered assurance that the new hands would integrate smoothly with the patient's own neurochemical systems. And it was good practical experience for the young man.  
  
Icheb paused at the doorway. Trish Gallagher was still leaning against it. "Are you all right?" he asked the young ensign.  
  
She shook her head and gestured toward the patient, "It's all so violent. Casualties of war are terrible, but this was a brutal assault. From what I can see, it was deliberate--and so familiar..." she whispered the last sentence as she remembered her sister. Icheb’s voice brought her attention back to Sickbay.  
  
"How so?" Icheb asked.  
  
The Doctor answered from just behind Icheb, "They were tortured. This young man was repeatedly injured and beaten to the brink of tolerance before he was killed. I'm positive he was meant to suffer; they kept him alive and in pain before they slit his throat."  
  
Icheb winced slightly at the idea. "Why would they damage another so?"  
  
"Who knows? But whatever the reason, they did the same thing to that girl out there," he said, pointing to the patient in the next room. "The difference is, she's alive."  
  
"Perhaps they thought she was already dead?"  
  
The Doctor shook his head, "I don't think so. I think she was supposed to live, at least long enough to let others know what had happened." He turned to face Icheb. "I'll notify you if I require any further assistance.”  
  
As Trish watched Icheb walk away, she asked herself, _why did I volunteer to be cross-trained in Sickbay?_ She'd known they were so short staffed here. It had seemed logical at the time, and so far, she’d been trained in basic first aid (and in triage). But this situation...  
  
“Ensign?”  
  
“Yes, Doctor?” Trish responded.  
  
“Please remain with the patient. She seems to be calmer when you are near her.”  
  
“She's unconscious.”  
  
“A very astute observation,” the Doctor responded in an acerbic tone, then shook his head. When he continued speaking, his voice was sad. “Her vital signs are much more stable when you are with her, especially when you talk to her. The mind works in mysterious ways, Ensign, one of them is that somehow, she is aware of someone who cares about her.”  
  
#  
  
As Trish was sitting with the patient, the Doctor activated his combadge. "Sickbay to Captain Janeway."  
  
In her Ready Room, Kathryn looked up from the preliminary report she was reading. "Yes?"  
  
_"Captain, I have finished the autopsy," _the Doctor's voice said.  
  
"Any idea on how long ago it happened?"  
  
_"Rigor mortis is well established. I would estimate six hours ago. And Captain, I have submitted my requisition to use the replicator to construct a pair of prosthetic hands for the girl."  
_  
"I'll authorize it. Anything else you can tell me?"  
  
The Doctor hesitated. _"I did an extensive examination of our guest and the body. When I compared the genetic markers of our guest and the deceased young man, I turned up some interesting results. They share 2234 centimorgans over 62 DNA segments."_  
  
There was a pause. "Are you saying these two were related, Doctor?"  
  
_"Captain, there is a 99.7 percent chance that they were siblings."_  
  
"Thank you, Doctor," she whispered, settling slowly back in her chair as the comm unit switched off. More tragedy for some distant, unknown, family. She knew that feeling--to lose loved ones--to watch those you love suffer...  
  
#  
  
_"Bridge to Janeway."_ Chakotay's voice centered her, bringing her back to the present. With an effort she focused on his voice.  
  
"Go ahead, Chakotay."  
  
_"We're approaching the third planet of the star system. Sensors show it is populated with the same species of humanoids as our guest."_  
  
"Any other information?"  
  
_"Negative, Astrometrics is still offline from our slipstream exit. As a result, we still can't scan for more than three light years in any direction. Megan reports that she and Sarexa are working on it, however, and she's confident they'll have it up to full range within the hour."  
_  
"E.T.A to the planet?"  
  
_"Two hours at our present speed of Warp 2."_  
  
She wanted to order him to be there in one hour, but she didn't. Warp 2 was taxing their systems as it was.  
  
#  
  
"Doctor, how is she?" Janeway asked immediately after entering Sickbay about an hour later. "Any improvement?"  
  
"Her condition is stable for now. I have done what I can, but there's a limit to what I can do. Even so, I believe we will be able to heal her physical injuries. I'm afraid the worst of her afflictions will be psychological."  
  
Janeway nodded. She could certainly understand that.

The Doctor continued, "Icheb's nanoprobes are quite well established. They're repairing damage within her system on the cellular level. This will, in turn, make it easier for her body's own neurochemical mechanisms to control the new prosthetics. If all continues to go well, I should be able to fit her with them shortly."  
  
Kathryn stared down sorrowfully at the young woman. "Has she regained consciousness at all? We're approaching a planet, and I need information."  
  
The holographic Doctor frowned. "No, I could revive her for a short time, but I believe she is better off if she's asleep for the moment."  
  
Kathryn nodded. "I understand, but I was hoping to speak with her before we contact the people living on the planet we're approaching. We need to find out as much about the situation there as possible."  
  
_"Bridge to Captain Janeway."_  
  
Kathryn looked up sharply. "Go ahead, Commander."  
  
_"We're picking up a ship in the vicinity. It's on an intercept course._"  
  
"I'm on my way."  
  
Kathryn gave the Doctor's arm a squeeze. "Do what you can for her, Doctor."  
  
The hologram nodded. Kathryn took one final look at the young victim before she darted out the door. As soon as the lift deposited her on her bridge, she began issuing orders.  
  
"On screen. Tom, how far are we from the planet?"  
  
"Still thirty minutes away, Captain."  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"No response to standard hails, Captain."  
  
"Tuvok?"  
  
"Their weapons are powered, their shields up. They possess significant weaponry and pose a moderate degree of danger to our current defenses. Our shields are up, but at seventy percent."  
  
"We're still a little off our feet from the slipstream," Chakotay said as she sat down. "Even to maintain Warp 2, we lost energy in other areas."  
  
"Captain," Tuvok said, "sensors indicate their weapons could be Borg in origin."  
  
"Reroute power from all non-essential systems to the shields," Janeway ordered. "Hail them again, Harry."  
  
"Frequency open, Captain."  
  
Kathryn tried to control her irritation. She wanted answers, but first, she had to know if this was the same vessel that had attacked the girl's ship. "Approaching vessel, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. We are on a mission of mercy. We have a young girl onboard who needs medical attention."  
  
There was no response. Kathryn raised an eyebrow as she looked at her first officer. "They don't want to talk," she observed darkly.  
  
Chakotay's response was obscured by the brief flash of static that filled the comm speakers. Both commanding officers glanced at Harry as he began to filter out the interference. After a few seconds, Harry nodded toward the view screen. The image of a militaristic-looking male appeared on the dark screen. It was obvious he was of the same species as their patient in Sickbay, but his face held no trace of welcome. "Starship _Voyager_. This is the _Qelgat_. You are not welcome here. Depart at once, or we will destroy you!"  
  
Kathryn rose to her feet. "We're on a peaceful mission, Captain...?" she paused, waiting for the alien to provide his name.  
  
The unknown captain stared at her from out of the screen. "Your presence is not desired here." He turned when someone spoke to him. Then he turned back to the screen and cut off the transmission.  
  
"The ship is making a flanking move," Tuvok said. "They will be in firing range in ten seconds."  
  
"Captain, they are powering weapons," Harry said, with a hint of alarm.  
  
"Red alert," Janeway said as she sat down. "Tom, evasive action."  
  
She'd barely spoken when the ship shook, and the illumination disappeared completely. The main lights came back on almost immediately, but only at half strength.  
  
"Report!" Chakotay ordered.  
  
"Damage to Deck 3, Section 2; no casualties," Harry said. "Engineering is responding." The lights flickered once before the bridge was fully illuminated again.  
  
Janeway stood. "Tom, get us out of here, Warp 2."  
  
Chakotay looked at the readouts appearing on his console and nodded. "Well, I think we found the 'who.' "  
  
"What do you mean?" Kathryn halted her forward motion and awaited further information.  
  
"Their weapons' signature is identical to those used on the girl's ship."  
  
"I concur with the Commander," Tuvok said, as he returned the captain's gaze. "Their weapons systems are definitely Borg in origin." Kathryn glanced thoughtfully around the bridge while the Vulcan spoke. By the time he fell silent, she'd made her decision.  
  
"Where would they have found Borg tech?" Harry asked.  
  
"They found a derelict Borg ship," Tom replied. "The crew abandoned the ship when we freed them."  
  
"Or they died," Harry added. "That makes sense, too."  
  
"If we're up against Borg technology, I don't want any surprises. I want to know just how much Borg tech that ship has. Tom, heading two-four point three, Warp 3. Harry, scan for any other ships in the vicinity, or messages coming from this _Qelgat _which may be a request for help." Janeway breathed a quick sigh of relief after Tom changed course. The alien ship did not follow. "I want a detailed analysis of that ship in half an hour. Maintain our course until we are just outside the system." She glanced at Chakotay and shook her head.  
  
Destroying the Borg had seemed like a good idea. She hoped the positive benefits continued to outweigh the negatives.  
  
#  
  
Janeway closed the PADD containing the reports she'd requested. Her hunch had been correct. This _Qelgat_ had Borg weapons, but none of their other technology. She did not find this very reassuring. These people must have discovered a Borg ship. Who knew what they could develop from it, given enough time to experiment with it? Advanced technology like that could alter the balance of power in this region.  
  
She didn't want to get into a philosophical debate with herself over this, so she picked up the Doctor's report. She didn't get very far, however.  
  
_"Captain, we've intercepted a subspace message from the third planet,_" Harry said. _"It's being sent over a dozen frequencies."_  
  
"Let's have it."  
  
The image of a young man of the same species as the victim in their Sickbay appeared on the screen. His eyes were wild and panicked, as if he were trying to face fears he would rather forget. _"To all people, I have grave news for the Empire. The armies of the Soman Democratic Union have chosen to align themselves with the great enemy from beyond our borders. We have obtained proof that the SDU has gained access to Borg technology. SDU ships have our homeworld under siege."_

Janeway stared as the static increased and the image vanished.  
  
She looked up as Chakotay entered her Ready Room. "The Soman Democratic Union are the ones with the Borg tech," he said.  
  
"Most likely, but it's my guess they only have the technology, as opposed to being former Borg themselves."  
  
"Still a fearful possibility," he replied. "The young woman and her family were fleeing a planetary siege and were chased down by the besiegers."  
  
"Possible. We're still no closer to an understanding of what is actually going on." She strode toward her door with her first officer right following close behind.  
  
"Captain," Tom called as they entered the bridge. "What course? Back to that planet?"  
  
Janeway shook her head. "No, I'd say we've had enough of a taste of our welcome there. This whole situation just gets murkier and murkier. We need more information. Let's hold our position until Astrometrics is fully operational once again."  
  
#  
  
_"Captain's log, Stardate 55403.6.  
  
"We defeated the Borg almost a year ago, yet they continue to haunt us.  
  
"Our last message from Seven and Axum arrived four months ago. The colony was doing well at that time. A few new ex-drones had arrived with reports that the fighting has diminished. Since then, we haven't heard any more about what is happening. How long can the Collective survive without a Queen? How easy is it for the Borg to create--or whatever they do--a new Queen?  
  
"Now we are facing a new variation on the Borg threat. Someone is using Borg weapons in a remote region of space, far from the original conflict. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that the disarray of the Collective has spread as far as it has. Still, it was a surprise to find evidence of Borg technology here, especially as we don't yet know who is using it. If terror was their goal, they have succeeded. We have intercepted several messages in the past two hours, all stating that the Soman Democratic Union is maintaining a siege of the Soman homeworld, using Borg technology.  
  
"And then there is our unknown passenger. What role does she play in all of this?  
  
"For the moment, we are hiding in a nebula while we complete repairs and regenerate our power supplies.  
  
"Three and a half weeks after our initial utilization of the slipstream drive, we find ourselves in a difficult situation. Three is supposed to be 'the charm.' Our third slipstream attempt brought us within 12,192 light years of home--but we landed right in the middle of a war.  
  
"Close log."_  
  
_"Captain Janeway report to the bridge."_

She frowned at Commander Tuvok's summons.  
  
#  
  
Kathryn looked at the image of a saucer-shaped ship twice _Voyager's_ size. So much for their hiding place.

"They are hailing us, Captain," Tuvok said.  
  
"Shields up. On screen."  
  
At her command the image onscreen shifted to that of a Soman officer. This man was older than the one they'd encountered earlier. Hopefully, he would prove to be more reasonable.

_"Unknown vessel. Who are you?"_ he demanded.  
  
Janeway stared at the screen. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the United Federation of Planets Starship _Voyager_." She glanced at Tuvok, who nodded slightly. "We are on a..."  
  
The opposing officer obviously was confused, but he continued to speak. _"Mercenaries? You are not welcome here."_  
  
"Wait, we have a young..."  
  
The alien interrupted. _"Mercenary ship, surrender your vessel, or suffer the consequences."_  
  
Janeway glared at the screen, "We are _not_ mercenaries. We have no intention of surrendering. We're on a peaceful..." The screen went blank. "Red alert," Janeway said. "Evasive maneuvers." She glanced at Chakotay as she sat down. "Pattern gamma on my mark. Mr. Tuvok, target weapons, if we have any to fire, but I wish to avoid damaging them."  
  
"Captain, they are hailing us again," Harry said.  
  
Janeway glanced at the young lieutenant and shrugged. "On screen." She stood and started to speak, but the alien interrupted.  
  
_"Scans of your ship show you are holding a Soman. Return your prisoner to my ship before we destroy you."_  
  
Kathryn caught the nearly imperceptible shake of Chakotay's head. She hadn't missed the fact that the alien ship, once ready to fire on them, was now inquiring about their patient. Curious.  
  
"We are not involved in your dispute. Almost a day ago we found a young woman near death on a badly damaged vessel. We are trying to find her people, but we will not turn her over to anyone who may harm her any more than she already has been."  
  
The Soman officer stared coolly back at her for several moments, then his face darkened slightly. _"A young woman? Who?"_  
  
"We don’t know her name. She’s been unconscious since we found her. If you disarm your weapons, we can talk about this reasonably. I will send..." Kathryn started to offer.  
  
The Soman's nostrils flared. _"You would board my ship for sabotage only. This will only prove to shorten the lives of my crew."_  
  
"Very well," Kathryn conceded with a sigh. "Would you consent to beam aboard my ship to meet with us then?"  
  
_"That will do, as long as I may bring three of my trusted aides with me."  
  
_"I can permit you to bring two of your aides with you, and I promise you, we mean you no harm. Will you agree to that stipulation?"  
_  
"Yes, that is reasonable. Only two. But Captain, can you describe the ship the young woman was on?"_  
  
"Yes, we can. We will do that once you're on our vessel." Janeway said. "And by the way, which side of this civil war are you on, Captain?"  
  
There was a small quirk of the man's eyebrow. _"Stuit, formerly general in the Soman Democratic Union. But I resigned, along with my entire crew, six months ago."_  
  
"Very well, Stuit, prepare to be beamed over."  
  
_"Yes, we are prepared."_  
  
"Good." Janeway nodded and turned. "Mr. Kim, beam our guests to Transporter Room Two." She motioned for Commander Tuvok to follow. "Commander Chakotay, you have the bridge. Maintain red alert. Tuvok, I want a full security team with us when we meet our guests."  
  
#  
  
The three Somans who appeared on the transporter pad were all much taller than Kathryn had anticipated. Stuit towered over her by at least two feet. His expression of wariness was quickly replaced by interest as he glanced around the transporter room, taking in its details.  
  
"Stuit," Janeway said, standing slightly ahead of Tuvok and his security detail, comprised of Lieutenant Ayala and Ensigns Andrews, Molina, and Jarvis. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway. Welcome to _Voyager_."  
  
The Soman took a hesitant step forward, but the animosity fell away from his face as he said, "I must see your prisoner."  
  
Kathryn straightened at his sudden change. "She's not our prisoner. She's a guest, but a badly injured one. Our Doctor has been caring for her in our medical bay. I will take you to her." She studied him during the short journey to Sickbay. When they arrived, but before the doors opened, Stuit ordered his aides to wait for him in the corridor.  
  
As soon as the doors opened and Stuit moved inside, an unmistakable undercurrent filled the room. And then, suddenly, he approached the bed.  
  
Kathryn stared in disbelief as the tall alien wept quietly over the still form of their patient. She shook her head trying to clear it. None of this made any sense. She beckoned Tuvok to follow her across the room.  
  
"Do you have a better grasp of the situation than I do?" she asked him quietly.  
  
"Captain, I must confess that I am at a loss to explain these events."  
  
Kathryn smiled softly at her friend. "In other words, no." Kathryn sighed and turned her attention back to their visitor, "Well, we'll just have to ask some questions. Hopefully, we'll get some answers."  
  
She crossed the room as quietly as she could to stand next to the grieving man, who was lightly tracing the lines of the young woman's face. He looked up questioningly as Kathryn stopped at his side.  
  
"You know her." It was a statement, not a question.  
  
"Jauria... my daughter..." Stuit pointed to the prosthetic hands.  
  
"Whoever attacked her amputated her hands." Kathryn began in explanation. "We've done what we can for her. A young member of our crew is...familiar with Borg technology. He helped the Doctor fashion implants to replace them."  
  
Stuit nodded slowly. "My daughter is an innocent victim, Captain Janeway. A madman wishes to destroy me. I had hoped my association with him had come to an end when I resigned from his forces. Obviously, I was wrong." He wept openly as he looked back down upon his daughter. "My error has cost me dearly."  
  
Kathryn knew her duty, even though she knew it would bring Stuit even more pain. "Sir, we also recovered another...individual...from that same ship." She saw the hope in his eyes and hated to dash it. "I'm sorry. We arrived too late to be able to save him."  
  
"Show me." Stuit said blankly. His emotional state was hard for her to read.  
  
Kathryn nodded to the Doctor, who led them to the stasis chambers in the morgue. He pulled the bed out to reveal the body of the male Soman.  
  
"Amolin, my dearest son." The words were barely a whisper. Stuit closed his eyes in anguish and lifted his face to the ceiling. "Tell me, Captain. Were there others onboard the damaged vessel?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Nine others."  
  
"All dead?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Stuit hung his head. "My sons. All gone." He stared silently at the floor before reaching out to touch the still, stiff body. Then he turned and announced, "I shall seek the accursed to the end of space, if necessary, for murdering my children! I shall have my revenge!"  
  
Janeway glanced quickly at Tuvok who simply raised an eyebrow. She had no desire to get involved with a war, but she felt sympathy for the bereaved father before her, and for the girl.  
  
"I'll arrange for the data we've gathered to be sent to your vessel,” she said.  
  
The alien nodded. "Good." He marched past his daughter and stopped in the doorway. "When can she be transferred to my ship?"  
  
The Doctor, who had quietly been watching the events unfold, reached for a tricorder to examine his patient. "We'll know in the next twelve hours if she will reject the implants. For that reason alone, I recommend she remain here for the time being." He looked at Janeway, then the girl. "Your physician would know more about her physiology..." He glanced at the alien. "You do have a doctor on board your ship?"  
  
The alien glared at the Doctor for a second. "Yes, of course."  
  
"Then I have no objections to her being transferred in the morning." He cleared his throat. "She will most likely also require a counselor."  
  
He stared at the prone figure. "Did they...violate her?"  
  
"I regret to say...they did," the Doctor said.  
  
Stuit's voice shook with barely suppressed rage. Raising his hands above his head in what Janeway took to be a ritualistic pose, he proclaimed, "In front of these witnesses, I, Stuit of the family Scuinordna, claim my right to seek retribution. I claim the life of Molán in retribution for stealing my daughter's honor and the lives of my sons! I shall not rest until I have it." As he continued, his voice grew ever more forceful. His posture became so straight, he seemed to grow even taller than he already was.  
  
"Now, tell me everything you know!" he said as he stormed out of Sickbay, with Janeway following close behind.  
  
#  
  
The Doctor shook his head as he watched the general leave. “Revenge is not what your daughter needs, she needs your love!” he called out, but the general never looked back. The Doctor sighed and glanced over at Trish Gallagher. “I know you've been here for a while, Ms. Gallagher, but can you please stay with her this evening? Samantha will be here to relieve you at 2000 hours.”  
  
“Do you really think my presence here is helping?” Trish asked.  
  
“Yes. Talk to her if you wish, but it's your presence she needs.”  
  
After the Doctor disappeared into his office, Trish took the seat next to the biobed and stared at the still unconscious girl. “I have no idea what I should talk about. I’ve already explained how we got here, some of the ship’s gossip...”  
  
Her voice trailed off. _This girl reminds me so much of my oldest sister, not in looks but..._ “I know why you remind me of Carla,” Trish said, continuing her internal conversation out loud. The whole story she seldom shared with anyone came out slowly, hesitantly, with many catches in her voice as she spoke.  
  
“The Cardassians tortured her and...and...” Trish felt the tears welling in her eyes. “She’d married Drake and they’d moved to Morcatia — a damn remote mining outpost where he was manager of the mine. After the Cardassians had come and gone, only my sister survived. Carla spent months in a Bajoran Hospital before she came home to her family.”  
  
Trish took the patient’s hand and pleaded, “Whatever you do, please don’t do what she did.”  
  
She stared down at the prosthetic hand she was holding. “It destroyed our family. Mom, my youngest brother and I moved to Earth. Dad and my other two brothers remained behind. Rumor had it they joined the Maquis, but I never tried to find out the truth. Ten years, and I haven’t bothered to find out what's happened to them." No, it was her mother who didn’t want to know. Maybe Trish did, but she'd taken her mother’s last name when she’d joined the Academy, to avoid being associated with anyone who might be involved in the Maquis.  
  
Trish closed her eyes tightly, to deal with her pain, but there was one more thing she had to say. "Please be strong, Jauria, for your father…even if he isn’t strong for you."  
  
When Trish opened her eyes, she saw Jauria's half-open ones gazing in her direction. Had she heard what Trish said? Even if she did, how much could she have understood? The girl couldn't possibly know about events in the Alpha Quadrant which had occurred years ago, yet Trish felt a kinship with Jauria. They'd both lost family members. How, where, or why hardly mattered; the only thing that did was that neither of them would see those beloved faces again...except in memories.  
  
  



	3. Act 2

**  
Act 2**  
  
Kathryn leaned her head back against the sofa in her quarters as she recounted her meeting with Stuit Scuinordna. She sighed as Chakotay came up behind her and began to gently work on her shoulders. "He's asked us to join him in his 'quest for justice against those who have wronged him.' "  
  
She couldn't see Chakotay's face, but she knew he was frowning. For many reasons, this whole situation bothered them both. Chakotay knew the seductive pull of fury brought on by injustice against one's family, and they both knew what it was to suffer great personal losses. But here and now, other considerations must be taken into account as well.  
  
"What will you do?" Chakotay asked.  
  
"What else is there to do, Chakotay?" she sighed. "This is clearly a Prime Directive situation. We have to stay out of it--if we can."  
  
_"Tuvok to Janeway..."  
_  
"Go ahead, Commander."  
  
_"Captain, two ships are approaching."_  
  
"On our way."  
  
By the time Kathryn and Chakotay reached the Bridge, Tuvok had ordered _Voyager_ to fall slightly behind Stuit's ship in an attempt to gain them a better tactical position. Janeway watched the approaching ships with a heightened sense of dread.   
  
"Tuvok?"  
  
"The ships are of the same design as Stuit's. They have not attempted to contact either _Voyager_ or our companion. However, their shields are up."  
  
The approaching ships waited until they were within 10 kilometers off the port bow of Stuit's vessel before the lead ship signaled Stuit. Kathryn gave in to her sense of foreboding and ordered Harry to eavesdrop on the communication. The weathered face of another Soman appeared on the screen. He didn’t look as if he were here to offer assistance, but neither did he seem to be enjoying his assignment. _"General Stuit, you are hereby commanded to accompany me back to our base. Charges have been brought before the general staff. You must defend yourself."  
  
_As Stuit was still in mourning, his expression was dull and lethargic. "_Bacaras, old friend, what are you talking about? What charges? I have resigned. I am no longer a general in the Soman Democratic Union Tactical Forces. Why are you siding with that madman against me? Molán only wants war."_  
  
General Bacaras winced slightly as he was forced to answer. "_Treason charges must be answered, no matter what your current position may be."_  
  
Stuit seemed to lose control at that point. _"Treason! By what evidence am I accused?"_  
  
_"I do not have the right to question the information,"_ replied the officer. _"I was told to bring you to Molán, and I will do so. The nature of your crime is not my concern._" Bacaras' staccato delivery of the words made it sound as if he had been rehearsing the line for hours.  
  
Stuit began shouting obscenities more quickly than the universal translator could accommodate, but it was clear to Kathryn, without understanding his words, that he had lost control of himself.  
  
"Tom, back us off. Let's give us room to maneuver. I don't like the feel of this situation."  
  
"Aye, Captain. No argument here."  
  
"Captain," said Harry almost immediately after _Voyager_ began to move. "We are being hailed."  
  
The image of Bacaras appeared on the screen. _"I am General Bacaras of the Soman Democratic Union Fleet. You are traveling with a criminal and have possibly been conspiring with him. You must accompany my ship to our base."_  
  
Janeway glanced quickly at Tuvok, then back at the screen. "General Bacaras, we are not involved with any side of your conflict."  
  
The alien gave her an angry glare before speaking again. _"We caught you in the act of conspiring with an accused traitor..."  
_  
"Conspiring? We rescued his daughter from a horrible fate, and..."  
  
_"Jauria?"_ The alien general looked startled. _"You found Jauria? We were told there had been an accident, but we could find no signs of her ship. Is she all right?"_   
  
"No," Janeway said. "She is _not_ all right, and General, it was _not_ an accident. We have sensor records that suggest a ship named the _Qelgat _may have attacked the vessel carrying Jauria and her brothers. Everyone on board was brutally tortured. Jauria is the only survivor."  
  
The general turned his head to one side. When Bacaras faced Captain Janeway again, his eyes had narrowed into thin slits. _"Come with us, Captain Janeway. I've changed my mind, General Stuit will not be arrested by me."_ The words were said in a rush, just before the screen went blank.  
  
Janeway sat down hard in her chair and took a deep breath. "Shields up. Maintain a distance of 1000 kilometers between _Voyager_ and Bacaras' ship. Continuous scans."  
  
Her console beeped, _"Sickbay to Captain Janeway. Jauria has regained consciousness."  
_  
They had been anticipating this development, but now Janeway didn't know if it would make things easier or just complicate matters further. "How is she?"  
  
_"In a word, terrified. I have tried to explain the situation, but I have not been very successful. She's on the edge of hysteria, not surprisingly. Perhaps her father can beam over?"_  
  
Janeway cursed fate silently. "Right now, that's not possible. Will she be all right?"  
  
_"She's been restrained, so she can't injure herself or anyone else. Ensign Gallagher is here. Her presence seems to help."  
_  
"Keep me informed, Janeway out." Janeway stood and looked at Tuvok, "Commander."  
  
#  
  
Tuvok had already prepared a list of questions to ask Jauria before he entered Sickbay. While the captain wished to obtain as much information as possible from the young woman, considering the traumatic events which had occurred, he knew he would have to avoid pressing her too forcefully if she was afraid to speak with him. First, they must establish a relationship of trust, a familiar prerequisite when dealing emotional races such as humans. From what he had learned of the Somans so far, they appeared to be quite like humans in this regard.  
  
The Doctor stood back to allow Tuvok to approach the patient. She appeared to be in a state of mild shock. Slow tears coursed down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes and pooled on the pillows.  
  
"I am Commander Tuvok. You are aboard the United Federation Starship _Voyager_. We are not participants in the disagreement in which your people are embroiled. You are safe here. Do you understand what I have said?"

Jauria cowered in her bed. Her eyes showed her increasing panic.  
  
Ensign Gallagher sat down next to him. "Jauria, Commander Tuvok doesn't mean any harm. We simply want to help you."  
  
Jauria attempted to speak, but all that came out was a gurgling sound. She started crying harder.  
  
"She's still in a severe state of shock," the Doctor said.  
  
Tuvok considered her for a moment. "So I see."  
  
"My patient must rest, Commander," the Doctor said. "If you leave a list of questions with Ensign Gallagher, she may be able to ask them for you later, when Jauria is less upset."  
  
#  
  
Janeway looked up as Commander Tuvok entered the Ready Room.  
  
"Captain, I have finished my report on the _Qelgat_." He handed her a PADD. "It is the same ship that attacked Jauria's vessel."  
  
"You're certain?" Janeway asked as she stood and walked around her desk.  
  
Tuvok raised a brow as if surprised to be asked that question. "Yes, Captain. The probability is 98.6 percent, with a standard deviation of less than .2 percent."   
  
"Understood." She frowned and turned to face her view port.  
  
"Captain, if you are planning to get involved in this dispute, I must remind you that the Prime Directive states..."  
  
"The Prime Directive can go to hell right now," Janeway interrupted heatedly. She swung around to face him. "It was our virus that lead to the demise of the Borg ship these aliens found."  
  
"We cannot be sure of that."  
  
_Yes, we can,_ she thought to herself. She dismissed him and started to pace. She opened her personal log and dictated a supplemental entry:   
  
_"Voyager is responsible for introducing Borg technology into this conflict in the first place. From what we've seen so far of their level of technology, it is beyond belief the Somans could have overpowered a fully crewed Borg vessel. The normal course of development of this society has already been interrupted, even if it was unintentional on our part. I am morally obligated to do all I can to undo as much of this damage as possible."_  
  
Tuvok was right about one thing, though. There was no way of knowing for sure, or was there? Perhaps there was a way to find out. "Lieutenant Kim, contact Generals Bacaras and Stuit."  
  
A few seconds later Bacaras's gravelly voice asked her what she wanted. "General, thank you for responding. I'd like to meet with you and General Stuit."  
  
Five minutes after Janeway's summons, the two generals were in her Ready Room. After the briefest of greetings, she asked them, "What do you know about The _Qelgat?_"  
  
There was a long silence before Bacaras hesitantly responded, "It's Molán's newest weapon. He plans to reclaim his family's throne with the _Qelqat_ and with ships like it."  
  
"And the Borg?"  
  
"They first appeared in our sector about a year ago," Bacaras said.  
  
She closed her eyes. "And a ship...someone found a ship?"  
  
Again there was a long silence, until Bacaras said, "A Borg cube was found, just drifting in space. All the Borg on board were dead. High Commander Molán took it to a secret base. He told us he wished to study it so that we could develop ways of defending ourselves from their attacks."  
  
"Come now, do you truly believe that?" Stuit said. "He wanted to figure out how to use their accursed technology for himself, to use against our 'enemies'--and those enemies were anyone who disagreed with him!" With a visible effort, he managed to calm himself. "It's why I left the SDU--and why I won't go back. It's why Molán must be stopped."  
  
"He is the legal heir of the Trusán Imperial family," Bacaras reminded him. "He has as much claim to the Imperial throne as the pretender currently ensconced there. That is why we both swore to give him our loyalty."  
  
"I can never bring myself to follow him again, not after...Captain Janeway, you have encountered these Borg before?" Stuit asked.  
  
"Once or twice." She'd decide later how much she would tell them.  
  
"Then you'll understand how the threat of those assimilating monsters could bring two warring governments together. After a hundred years of fighting, the Soman Democratic Union and the Imperial Alliance decided to cease hostilities. A year ago, we were to meet to discuss a truce so we could fight this new threat together," Stuit said.  
  
"Our intelligence operatives reported that the Imperials had set a trap using that meeting as bait..." Bacaras started to say, but Stuit's growl stopped him. Bacaras shook his head before he continued. "I had my suspicions about whether or not those charges were actually true, but--Captain Janeway, I have long had my suspicions of Molán's true nature, but for 200 years my family has been aligned with his family."  
  
"And he sent you to arrest me!" Stuit laughed sadly. "He has either set a trap for the both of us, or he is remarkably stupid." He turned to Janeway. "Why do you ask about the Borg?"   
  
"Because we have evidence that a ship with modified Borg weapons attacked Jauria's ship."  
  
"The _Qelgat_ is the only ship that didn't blow up during testing," Stuit said immediately. "So I was right! Molán killed all my sons and tortured my Jauria!"  
  
"But why?" asked Bacaras.  
  
"To get at me," Stuit said. Janeway waited in silence to see how Bacaras would react to this statement.  
  
"He had not been in favor of my son and your daughter marrying," the other man said slowly, "but to go to such lengths..."  
  
This enlightening conversation came to a halt when Harry interrupted over the comm, _"Captain, we're detecting five ships on an intercept course."  
_  
"Imperial ships," Bacaras said. "We need to leave."   
  
Janeway ordered the two generals transported back to their vessels directly from her Ready Room. As soon as they disappeared, she entered her bridge. As she moved to her command chair, she examined what was on the view screen and frowned.  
  
"Back us off, Tom," she ordered. Behind her, Tuvok quickly entered the bridge and displaced Rollins at the tactical station. The Imperial ships were ignoring _Voyager_ and concentrating all their fire on the three SDU ships.  
  
The furthest SDU vessel exploded in a bright blast of light, but it was not either of the vessels commanded by the two generals.  
  
Harry said, "Captain, we're being hailed by one of the Imperial vessels."   
  
A new, younger face appeared on the screen. _"Unknown vessel, assist us or be branded a traitor to the Emperor."_  
  
"We will not..." Janeway started, but the screen went blank. She rolled her eyes and glanced at Chakotay.  
  
Seconds later, the two surviving Soman ships fled the battle with three of the attacking ships in pursuit. The same face appeared on the screen. _"Unknown vessel, consider yourself an enemy of the Imperial Alliance."  
_  
"The Imperial fleet is locking weapons," Tuvok said.  
  
"Pattern delta," Chakotay said. "Let's get the hell out of here." _Voyager_ shook as the lead ship fired.  
  
"Shields are holding," Harry said as they were hit again.  
  
Janeway nodded as _Voyager_ ducked around the two ships and went to warp.  
_  
_The mood on the bridge was tense for several seconds until Harry said, "They are not pursuing."  
  
Janeway glanced quickly at Chakotay and Tuvok. This was more excitement than they needed so soon after leaving the slipstream. "Damage report!"  
  
"Minor damage to Decks 12 and 13," Tuvok said. "Repair teams are on their way."  
  
Chakotay added, "Astrometrics is preparing a scan of the sector."  
  
#  
  
Five hours later, _Voyager's_ captain wandered the corridors of her ship, deep in thought. Within minutes of leaving the slipstream, they'd found themselves in the middle of yet another conflict. Now, almost thirty hours later, some repairs to the ship had been made, but they were far from being truly battle-ready. There had been no further sign of either SDU or Imperial ships. Kathryn tried to shake the feelings which haunted her thoughts, but she found their cloying pull too strong for her in her exhausted state.  
  
The Delaneys and Sarexa in Astrometrics were working to locate any traces of Borg technology, as well as tracking Stuit and Bacaras, who had fled the attack in separate directions.  
  
She paused as she passed Sickbay. Forcing herself to turn around, she lifted her chin and entered.  
  
Jauria was sitting up on a biobed and, with the encouragement of Ensign Gallagher, was picking up objects lying on the coverlet. Janeway was pleased to see her successfully manipulating her fingers and picking up several items that were quite small. The Doctor put his bioscanner down on the tray as Janeway nodded.  
  
"Hello, Captain," Ensign Gallagher said. "Jauria is doing a wonderful job acclimating herself to the implants."  
  
Kathryn nodded and spared a small smile for the ensign. "So I see. Good work. Do you think she will regain full functionality?"  
  
The EMH nodded and immediately answered for Ensign Gallagher, "Of course, Captain. After all, we do good work."  
  
Janeway smiled at Jauria and pulled a chair next to the bed. "Hello, Jauria. I'm Captain Janeway. I thought you were overdue a visit from the captain."  
  
Jauria attempted to return the smile but was unable to conceal the sorrow in her eyes. She raised her new hands and began making wide, aggressive gestures.  
  
Kathryn studied her movements for a moment trying to determine what the girl was trying to communicate. "Are you asking about your father?" she asked.  
  
Jauria nodded, fear evident in her gaze.  
  
"He was here, but he had to leave. We were attacked by Imperial ships, but _Voyager_ is a strong vessel. I assure you, you are safe here, Jauria."  
_  
_Jauria made other gestures. While the captain wasn't sure what she was trying to express, Jauria seemed to be following the conversation. Janeway decided to respond the way she would if she were Jauria.  
  
"Your father also escaped the battle, but we haven't been unable to locate his current position. We'll keep looking, but if it is necessary, we will take you home ourselves."  
  
Jauria nodded and leaned back. Her alert and upbeat mood had dissipated.   
  
Janeway wished she could take back her last comment. Home would be a very different place after the loss of Jauria's brothers, and getting her there might be difficult, if her home was on the besieged planet they'd been unable to approach. Rather than say anything else that might inadvertently hurt the girl, the captain retreated.   
  
"I'll be going now. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. And if there is anything you feel we should know--anything you remember that may help us help you--let the Doctor know. I'll make sure I'm available."  
  
Jauria quickly nodded, but then she stared at the far wall. Kathryn patted her upper arm gently and headed for the Sickbay exit.  
  
As she neared the door, it opened. Chakotay nearly stepped on her as he entered.  
  
"Thought I would find you here," he commented as he halted. He glanced toward the biobed on the far side of the room and said softly, "How is she?"  
  
"As well as we can expect, under the circumstances. I think she wants privacy right now."  
  
Chakotay studied her face. "And you need some attention, too. Come on." He took her hand and led her out into the corridor.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"To your quarters. You're long overdue for some sleep."  
  
Kathryn didn't argue; she'd learned it was futile when he took that tone with her; and besides, she really did need to rest. As the lift doors closed, she leaned heavily against him, her head falling onto his shoulder. After the lift stopped, he led her silently into her quarters, and she collapsed gratefully onto the couch.   
  
"I'll start your bath," he said, heading toward the bathroom.  
  
Kathryn smiled and kicked off her boots. "Sounds like a wonderful idea, but I have other matters to address. I need to figure out a way to stay out of this conflict."  
  
Chakotay stuck his head around the corner. "You can do that later. A bath doesn't take that long."  
  
Kathryn couldn't help but grin. "Mine can."  
  
Giving in to his offer, she slipped past him and entered her bathroom. Warm steam raced with towering bubbles to reach the top of the filling tub. Kathryn sighed as she breathed in the sweet scent of her favorite bath oil.  
  
"You have an hour till the staff meeting," Chakotay said as he was on his way out the door. "Don't stay in there too long."   
  
"Only if I fall asleep."  
  
He laughed. "I'll comm you in 40 minutes, just in case you do. In the meantime, I'll be on the bridge."  
  
#  
  
Darkness was the first thing Janeway noticed as she rolled over. The second was Harry Kim's voice. Her hand slid over to her nightstand to grab her combadge. "Janeway here."  
  
_"Captain, two Soman vessels are approaching our position at high speed."  
_  
"I'm on my way." She was out of bed and dressed in record time. She was preceded to the bridge only by Chakotay and Tuvok.  
  
"On screen," Janeway barked as soon as she stepped from the turbolift. "Magnify." The tiny images waved to brilliant reality against the backdrop of stars. They looked like SDU vessels.  
  
"Time to intercept?" she asked as she sat in her chair.   
  
"Four minutes and 47 seconds," Harry replied.  
  
"Hail them."  
  
The view screen blinked, revealing the face of General Bacaras. His demeanor was different than previously. He seemed more determined, as if he'd come to a tough decision and would carry it through regardless of the consequences.  
  
_"We meet again, Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. We need your help."_  
  
Janeway eyed him for a moment. "In what way, General? We have rules against becoming involved in other species' conflicts."  
  
The Soman general shrugged. _"It is not our usual practice to ask outsiders for help either, but I believe you're already involved in this conflict, even though you never wished to be." He stared at her intently. "We both know you have already decided to help us. You know more about the Borg than you admitted. You know the dangers if their technology gets into the wrong hands."  
_  
"What do you want from us?" Janeway asked, curiosity causing her to sit up straighter.  
  
_"To seek your assistance in locating Stuit." _  
  
She sat up straighter in her chair, surprised, as she answered, "We haven't been able to find him, either."  
  
_"Captain, I know our personal problems mean nothing to you. But our two families have a long history. Many years ago, Stuit's house and mine came to an agreement. A pact if you will. Our fathers swore to link our houses as one family. Stuit's daughter is to marry my son Mowal. Jauria and my son were betrothed before birth. So you can imagine my...difficulty... when our government ordered Stuit's capture. I have transmitted my resignation to the Soman Democratic military High Command, on the grounds that they have not lived up to the charter they once boldly flaunted before the people. And Molán, if he is truly the one who caused the death of Stuit's children, is not to be trusted. The Borg tech he now possesses must be captured, and I believe Stuit is determined to try, all on his own. He seeks revenge."_  
  
Janeway sat rooted as she listened to the alien's words. She inhaled deeply. "I sympathize with your position. Believe me, I do. But what makes you think we can help?"  
  
_"Because you were willing to talk instead of fight. You know the peace we are searching for--and you know the Borg." He paused, "So Captain, what will it be? Will you help us?"  
_  
Janeway stared at the pleading man with helpless frustration. Why couldn't they make it one parsec without having to test her ability to adhere to the Prime Directive? She shook her head. "I..."  
  
Bacaras nodded slowly, turning the screws as he added, _"Captain, will you turn your back on an innocent girl in need?"  
_  
Kathryn stood hands on her hips. Chakotay stood as well, just behind her. "You can't blame yourself for what happened," he whispered.  
  
"Yes, I can," she retorted quietly, so that Bacaras wouldn't overhear. "We should have found another way to destroy the Borg. Some other way that wouldn't have left abandoned ships littering the galaxy."  
  
Bacaras smiled and glanced to his left as if making sure that his crew was minding their own business. _"Captain, I have information that I must deliver to Stuit. Information about Jauria. Do you not want to see her attackers punished? Are you content to let the horrors the girl has suffered go without retribution?"_  
  
Kathryn sat down heavily in her command chair. She glanced at Chakotay and knew that the haunted look in his eyes reflected her own anger. Chakotay's nod was imperceptible, but she knew what he advised. Leaning back fully, no longer able to support herself, she closed her eyes and spoke. "What do you have to tell him, Bacaras?"  
  
"_I have arranged to have the Qelgat brought to a secure location."_  
  
Janeway stared at the general. "How?"  
  
_"Come with us, and I'll explain what my agents have told me. The Qelgat's commander is motivated by greed, by a desire for power--and by vague promises made by Molán. And you know the danger that ship, with its Borg weapons, represents."_  
  
After a short pause, Janeway said, "Perhaps we should continue the conversation in person."   
  
Bacaras nodded. _"I concur, Captain. If you don't mind, I'd like to bring my aide."_  
  
"Very good. We'll beam you over when you are ready." She motioned with her hand to cut off any more questions. She looked at her second-in-command and sighed as she asked, "Do we really have a choice?"  
  
"Captain, I understand. I also think every member of this crew understands why. Even Tuvok," he spoke in a voice so quiet that it was clear his words were for her ears only.  
  
She smiled sadly. "I'll be in my Ready Room. Inform me when General Bacaras is ready to beam over. We'll meet there."  
  
"Very good, Captain." She saw the brief look of concern in his eyes as she turned toward her Ready Room.  
  
#  
  
Chakotay sat gazing at the image in the view screen at Bacaras's ship. In shape, it reminded him vaguely of some of the older style Cardassian vessels; Gul Datik had commanded one very much like it. Cardassians. The word alone sparked so many emotions in him. Atrocities such as the ones carried out on Jauria were not uncommon occurrences among those captured by Cardassian forces, as he and every Maquis knew. Everyone who'd ever spent time in one of their prisons had suffered similar forms of torture, including, he suspected, the captain. It was difficult for him to maintain a neutral stand and not convict the entire SDU fleet outright. He was sure that most, if not all, of his former Maquis crew felt the same way. But he trusted them; knew they would not do anything out of line. It was not their war--but it had become their fight because of the addition of Borg technology into the mix. As much as he tried to sway Kathryn from her guilt feelings about how that technology fell into the hands of the Somans, he understood why she felt that way.  
  
His gaze strayed toward the Ready Room door as he sought his calm center. Kathryn, Tuvok, Bacaras and his aide were meeting in there. The rest of the bridge crew had remained at their duty stations. The possibility of attack from either side were high. A soft beep from his console justified his action.  
  
"Chakotay to Janeway."  
  
_"What is it, Chakotay?"  
_  
"Unidentified vessel approaching at high warp."  
  
  



	4. Act 3

  
**Act 3**  
  
Kathryn and the others immediately entered the Bridge. "On screen, Harry," ordered Janeway as she took her seat. General Bacaras nodded twice in what looked to be satisfaction. Janeway was puzzled until she realized that the approaching ship was the _Qelgat_. "General?"  
  
"They did it! My agents were able to steal the _Qelgat_ and bring it to me. It was the first successful prototype." He looked at her. "Stuit is correct. High Commissioner Molán is out of control. It's no wonder he wants Stuit out of the way. Stuit is possibly the only general with any following who can stand up to Molán."  
  
"A prototype?" Chakotay asked, as he consulted the readouts on his console. "It appears to be unfinished."  
  
"Only the weapons were installed. They had many problems with the rest of the Borg technology, and Molán was in a hurry. But they will eventually figure out how to install the rest into his ships unless we stop him."  
  
"We?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"We have the _Qelgat_, and when we find General Stuit, we can find the shipyard."  
  
"You may not get the chance. Captain," interrupted Harry. "Seven approaching ships at bearing 05.09 mark 7."  
  
"Battle stations!" Janeway ordered.  
  
"Helm, swing us around." ordered Chakotay.  
  
She looked at Chakotay and nodded in agreement. "We have to protect that ship." The three cruisers and four fighters were flying straight toward the _Qelgat_. Bacaras muttered something under his breath, then spoke louder.  
  
"An Imperial fleet. They probably want the _Qelgat_ too."  
  
"Tuvok, what's their status?" Janeway could well imagine the Imperial forces would also covet the _Qelgat_.  
  
"Weapons are armed; they are locking on to us." Tuvok said.  
  
"Evasive pattern Omega 6, Tom." She frowned as Voyager shook. "Tuvok, return fire."  
  
_Voyager_ quaked when one of the small fighters blew up. The other six fighters backed off, concentrating their firepower on the Borg-hybrid-ship.  
  
"The _Qelgat's_ shields are failing," Harry said.  
  
"Tom, attack pattern Xi." Chakotay looked at Janeway, who nodded. "Target the first three ships."  
  
_Voyager_ moved into attack position and opened fire, followed closely by a second wave of phaser fire, as Bacaras' ship joined in the fight. Bacaras grimaced at the image. Janeway understood. How painful it must be to watch your ship fight without you!  
  
The surviving two Imperial cruisers accelerated toward the _Qelgat_. A blast sent one rolling away from the hybrid, before the cruiser exploded. The second struck a glancing blow...and blew up too close to _Voyager_.  
  
The lights blinked several times, then dimmed completely.  
  
"Emergency lights," Janeway said and immediately contacted engineering. "B'Elanna, what's going on down there?"  
  
_B'Elanna's voice sounds worried,_ Janeway thought, as the engineer began her report. "Captain, we're putting too much strain on all systems. We haven't replenished enough power yet."  
  
"Divert power from anything that isn't critical. Reduce ship-wide temperatures to ten Celsius." She glanced at Chakotay. "Commander, stand down to yellow-alert and advise everyone that it's going to get a little chilly in here."  
  
#  
  
The pale emergency lighting caused a yellowish pall to fall over the Ready Room as B'Elanna described the damages to _Voyager's_ propulsion systems. Harry's report, which detailed the damage to the rest of the ship's operations, wasn't much more optimistic concerning the amount of time the crew needed to put everything to rights. Getting that time, in the middle of a war zone, might be difficult.  
  
Janeway glanced around the Ready Room, her eyes resting briefly on each member of the senior staff. The timing of the battle had been almost catastrophic. Someone had once said that the road to Hell was paved with good intentions. In this case, it started with the rescue of Jauria. Each successive development had pulled _Voyager_ further into the politics of this sector, at the cost of her crew's own well-being.  
  
"How are the dilithium crystals?" she asked B'Elanna.  
  
"We've been able to successfully recrystallize those that were damaged. Critical repairs will be completed in an hour.  
  
"Understood. Keep me updated on progress, B'Elanna. We need both weapons and shields. Do what you can."  
  
#  
  
An hour later, _Voyager_ was still running on emergency power. Chakotay slid down the ladder between Deck 7 and 8 for the last meter with his feet and hands were wrapped loosely around the railing, not bothering to use the rungs. As he neared the deck, he jumped off in a single fluid motion. Noting a tool kit in the corner of the Jeffries tube junction, he scanned the area, but could find no one. "Kathryn?" he called.  
  
A grunt to his left signaled her location. Smiling, he poked his head into the access hatch. _Voyager's_ captain was lying on her back, spanner in hand, trying with all her strength to loosen a tight fitting bolt.  
  
"Hi. Need some help?"  
  
She grunted again. "No...it's almost...there." she panted. The bolt suddenly gave way and her momentum carried her hand forward and into the bulkhead. "Ouch! Dammit!"  
  
Chakotay chuckled. "I did ask."  
  
Kathryn glared at him.  
  
"Here, let me see," he offered.  
  
Chakotay examined her hand. A small amount of blood covered two skinned knuckles. "You'll live," he said.  
  
Kathryn took back her hand with a chuckle and busied herself with replacing the faulty relay. "Did you come down for a reason, or are you just here to laugh at me?"  
  
"To administer first aid, of course." Chakotay crawled further into the tube and handed her an engineering tricorder. "Most systems are ready to go. We're just waiting for the word from B'Elanna. Bacaras' ship isn't far behind."  
  
Kathryn finished her task and sat up. Repacking her tools neatly in her satchel, she studied him closely. "You didn't come down here in person to report on our status."  
  
He shook his head never taking his eyes from hers. "No. I came looking for you. You jumped at the chance to come down here and get your hands dirty. We both know that there was no shortage of crew to make these repairs. You're hiding."  
  
"What could I possibly be hiding from?"  
  
"From a decision we both know you have to make."  
  
Kathryn gave him a quirky smile. "Is that what I'm doing?" She looked away without ever quite meeting his eyes.  
  
"Come on, Kathryn."  
  
Janeway sighed heavily. "I'm about to commit this crew to a direct violation of the Prime Directive."  
  
"Is it really? I'm not sure I like the idea of Borg tech being in this Molán's hands."  
  
"I'm not sure I like it in anyone's hands. But does this give us the right to get involved?"  
  
"Morally, yes. You know what they did to Jauria. And you, of all people, know what Borg technology is capable of doing. It's not like we haven't done anything like this before. Every captain violates the Prime Directive, but most get to do it inside Federation territory. There isn't a crewman on board who would argue the point with you. Sometimes you have to take a stand, Kathryn. Following the rules isn't always enough. Bad things happen, and it's up to every living soul to do something to try and prevent it from happening again. You started down this road when you destroyed the Caretaker's array to keep that tech out of the hands of the Kazon. Is this really any different?"  
  
Kathryn sighed again and pursed her lips before answering, "Are you sure this is a Starfleet ship? I'm turning into a pretty good Maquis Captain."  
  
Chakotay smiled and leaned forward. "You make a pretty good everything. If it were up to me, this decision would not be a difficult one to make. But you're the captain. It's your call."  
  
She sat quietly for a moment, her eyes unfocused and introspective. Suddenly, she was all action. Bright, sharp eyes met his dark brown ones. "All right. It's time to take the moral high ground." She tapped her combadge forcefully. "Janeway to Torres."  
  
_"Go ahead, Captain."  
_  
"How soon will be finished with repairs, B'Elanna?"  
  
_"We're done. I was about to contact you."_  
  
"Good. Janeway to Senior Staff." she continued. "Report to the Briefing Room. Have General Bacaras beam over." She gathered up her equipment and headed down the tube. "Let's go fill everyone in."  
  
As they marched towards the lift, Chakotay stayed a step behind her. His captain was no longer hiding herself away, and her mood had improved noticeably. She'd needed to make an important decision, and she'd done it. As far as her first officer was concerned, it was "mission accomplished."  
  
#  
  
Tuvok raised an eyebrow when he was told of the captain's decision, but he did not say anything. He wasn't surprised. Vulcans prided themselves on their emotionless, logical outlook on life. Theirs was a very orderly society, peaceful, law-abiding. The reason he had chosen to serve in Starfleet's Security Division, rather than as a science officer, was to help others achieve and maintain such an ideal society as well.  
  
Since his captain was well aware of this, her stunned expression when he quietly said he concurred with her decision was not a surprise.  
  
Janeway continued with the briefing. "Commander Tuvok, I want you and Mr. Kim to work with Bacaras' security staff. Determine what you can from the _Qelgat_, our records, and theirs. Lieutenant Torres, have an engineering team go over the ship. Take Cadet Icheb and Sarexa with you." Janeway glanced at Chakotay. "Commander, you'll be my liaison officer."  
  
The Doctor nodded slightly, when Janeway gave him the floor. "My patient is making remarkable progress...physically that is." He shook his head. "Emotionally, however, is quite another story. She's still terrified, Captain."  
  
"Do what you can to support her, Doctor."  
  
"I have assigned Ensign Gallagher to remain with her through whatever action will take place. Despite the fact that Jauria has not said a word, they seem to have established a bond with one another."  
  
"Excellent. Well, unless there is something else?" When no one answered, she dismissed them.  
  
Tuvok stood and started to follow the others out. When the captain called his name, he turned around to look at her.  
  
Softly, she said, "Thanks."  
  
He raised an eyebrow once more. "It was a logical decision, Captain. Whether we like it or not, we are already involved. We cannot let the Borg technology remain in their hands." He paused. "We have already seen what they are capable of doing to someone who has taken no direct part in their conflict."  
  
#  
  
Chakotay glanced at Icheb, who just nodded. Bacaras' men on board the _Qelgat_ quietly watched as Joe Carey and Icheb began to evaluate the technology. Within a minute, Icheb said, "There is a one point six variance between the primary phaser wave and the second."  
  
"This isn't good, I take it?" Chakotay grinned. At least the people who patched this ship together hadn't done a very good job.  
  
"No, sir. A one point six variance is over three thousand times beyond the safety range. They've tried to incorporate Borg shielding without adjusting for the harmonic variances. That is the reason they could not get the Borg shielding technology to work. The weapons systems are also misaligned. There is a high risk for a catastrophic cascade failure of all systems. The crew which has operated this ship so far has been fortunate that such a failure has not already occurred."  
  
"Thank you, Cadet. Download the data. Look for any information you can find on where the _Qelgat_ was constructed." Chakotay glanced around the _Qelgat's_ bridge. The current crew hadn't known very much about its systems. Chakotay decided not to ask where the original crew had gone. He probably didn't want to know. One thing he had learned, however: a half dozen officers who had been part of that original crew had mutinied, which is how it fell into General Bacaras' hands.  
  
#  
  
Janeway shook her head as she closed the link to the _Qelgat_. Chakotay's report confirmed much of what Bacaras had said. Molán was too impatient. She looked at the image of Bacaras on _Voyager's_ viewscreen. The entire exchange had been patched to his ship. The situation was clear to her, but she wasn't sure how the general would take what she had to say. "General Bacaras, we have no choice. We must destroy the _Qelgat_."  
  
_"Destroy? Captain! The _Qelgat_ may be our most important asset when we strike at Molán. And we'll need it to fight the real Borg when they come back for us. Nothing we've seen has given us any indication that they'll just give up their plans to conquer and assimilate our Empire."_  
  
"The _Qelgat_ is a failure, General. That ship will blow itself up at any time. You heard the Commander's report. It's dangerously unstable. My crewmen will be returning to _Voyager_ in fifteen minutes. I suggest you evacuate your people off that deathtrap as well." She paused.  
  
_"Captain, I protest! You clearly don't have all the facts at your disposal--of course not, since you sent inexperienced engineers to make such an important evaluation. In particular, that young man who went with the Commander. He is too young to make an assessment..."  
_  
"Young? Yes, he is young. He is also an expert in all things Borg." She placed her hands on her hips. "I have complete faith in Cadet Icheb's analysis of the technology on that ship. The _Qelgat_ would be a liability in battle, as likely to destroy your own forces as Molán's" _The lure of alien technology_, the thought. _I hope Bacaras hasn't been too strongly pulled in by that siren's song. _If he refused to accept her decision, she would not help him in his fight, even though they both had their reasons--although not the same ones--for finding Molán and the source of his Borg technology. But she _could_ offer him reassurance concerning one of his points. "As far as the Borg themselves are concerned, General, I highly doubt they'll be threatening you, or anyone else, for quite a while. Perhaps never."  
  
Bacaras nodded, a grim expression on his face. _"Very well, Captain. I do NOT agree with your decision, but I must accept it as the price I must pay to gain your assistance."_ He turned away.  
  
#  
  
Ten minutes after the destruction of the _Qelgat_, which was accomplished by setting in motion the catastrophic failure Icheb had predicted could happen at any moment, Kathryn Janeway was again at Jauria's bedside. This time, instead of feeling frustration at her own helplessness and rage at what had happened to the girl, she felt only determination. She had to find Jauria's father, who might know where to find the Borg cube. _To fight the good fight._ She almost smiled to herself when she realized how like Chakotay that had thought had sounded.  
  
Jauria must have noticed the change too, for she sat up in bed and eyed the captain respectfully, almost as if she were awaiting orders.  
  
Kathryn placed a hand on her arm to reassure her. "Jauria," she began. "A friend of your father's is traveling with us. Bacaras..." she paused as the girl lifted her head and blinked suddenly. Janeway took this to mean Jauria had recognized that name. Janeway quickly pressed on as she saw Jauria becoming somewhat agitated. Was the mention of the girl's future father-in-law bringing on memories of the attack on her? "He has news for your father, important news. We _must_ find him, Jauria. Do you think you could help us?"  
  
The girl wavered a moment, uncertain. Tension built in the set of her eyes. Janeway was sure Jauria knew where her father might be, but she was reluctant to let Janeway know it. Janeway thought she knew why. It would be beyond betrayal if Jauria lead enemies into her father's camp. A slight arch appeared over each of her brows before the girl made a quick gesture, pushing away with her new hands, as she turned away from the captain.  
  
"Jauria," Janeway said softly. "We aren't going to betray your father. Your father and General Bacaras are willing to trust me. We need you to trust me, too. Please. I have a map. Can you point to where we might find him?"  
  
Jauria stared at the PADD Kathryn held. Slowly, she brought her prosthetic right hand forward, extended its forefinger, and pointed.  
  



	5. Act 4

**  
Act 4**  
  
"Proceed to these coordinates, Mr. Paris." Janeway said as she stepped onto the bridge. She gave him the information.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," responded Tom, a note of satisfaction in his voice.  
  
Kathryn smiled. "Harry, signal the general's ship. Tell him we have the information. Provide him with the coordinates."  
  
After Harry indicated he'd completed his task, Janeway shifted back in her seat and faced the viewscreen. "Engage, Mr. Paris, Warp 3."  
  
_Voyager_ streaked along for hours, with the two alien ships trailing in its wake. There were few planets along the flight path. For long periods of time, they stared at the vast darkness of empty space, lit only by distant stars.  
  
"Quite the backwater," observed Tom.  
  
"Good place for a hideout," agreed Chakotay.  
  
There really wasn't much to add to that sentiment. The bridge grew quiet again. After a few more minutes Harry's terminal began to spring to life.  
  
"Captain, I'm detecting a warp signature."  
  
"ETA to destination, Tom?"  
  
"Two minutes, Captain. "  
  
"Slow to impulse. Open a channel, Harry. Let's announce ourselves." Harry nodded and Kathryn stood. "This is the Federation Starship _Voyager_. General Stuit, please respond. Jauria sends her regards."  
  
There was a long silence, then the sound of static. _"This is General Stuit. Why have you followed us?" _Kathryn glanced at Chakotay and frowned. The message was audio only.  
  
"His ship is behind the third moon of the class L planet," Jamie McMinn said from the bridge Astrometrics station. Janeway nodded in acknowledgement.  
  
"We bring information...and your daughter." The screen was still blank.  
  
The General's sigh was audible over the channel. _"Jauria. A great shame has been brought upon our family."_  
  
"General, we have information about the _Qelgat_."  
  
_"The Qelgat?"_ The screen flickered, and a very exhausted Stuit appeared. _"I warned them. I warned them..."_ He looked straight at the screen. _"I am preparing to attack Molán. I will have his head." _Janeway watched his eyes narrow in anger. "I will leave his body for the carrion eaters to peck at..." He stopped speaking, looking a little sheepish. _"Forgive me, Captain."_ He paused as he looked at some data, then his frown deepened. _"Captain. What do you know about the Qelgat?"  
_  
"Perhaps I should let Captain Bacaras explain all the details, but you should know that it has been destroyed."  
  
_"Destroyed?" _A grim smile played across his lips. _"It was supposed to be 'indestructible.' But as always, Molán was too impatient too wait for it to be finished. And Bacaras?"_  
  
"He resigned so that he could help you."  
  
The screen went blank. Bacaras' ship broke from the group and headed toward the moon.  
  
A quick look passed between Kathryn and Chakotay. "Monitor all ships," Janeway said, not bothering to mask the urgency and suspicion lurking beneath her voice. Kim's affirmative response was immediate, almost as if he'd predicted the request.  
  
"Open a channel to Bacaras!"  
  
"Channel open, Captain."  
  
"General Bacaras, just what do you think you're doing?" Kathryn Janeway had risen from her seat and stood in the center of the bridge.  
  
_"Please, Captain. You must understand, I am doing what is best for my friend."_ The Soman's face had hardened into a determined mask. _"All will be apparent in due time."_  
  
"I don't take kindly to being used, General. 'Due time' won't cut it. Explain yourself now."  
  
Bacaras's expression grew fiercer and then softened abruptly. _"Stuit knows who is behind the attack on his family. He has been my friend for many years; I know him. He has set another plan in motion that you know nothing about. Stuit has put together a force to capture the High Councilor. I cannot allow that; he would be playing into Molán's hands. We must proceed carefully. There are many we can trust, but just as many would betray us. I will not allow him to foolishly attack Molán."_  
  
Janeway didn’t permit herself to display any emotion besides skepticism.   
  
Bacaras tried again. _"Captain Janeway, you must trust me. Would you not do the same for your friends? Would you not restrain Commander Chakotay if it meant preventing him from damaging himself further?" _Something must have flickered in her expression then, because Bacaras relaxed back into his chair. _"Captain Janeway, I ask you to admit this is true."_  
  
Kathryn grimaced. She would act as he suggested if it meant saving Chakotay. She would do it for Tom, Harry, or any of her crew, but using Chakotay as the example brought the point home more forcefully. Somehow, he'd seen that Chakotay was more than just a first officer to her.  
  
Quietly she nodded. "All right, Bacaras, but don't drag this out. Get to Stuit quickly. We need to be done with this whole bloody business."  
  
Bacaras nodded. _"Perhaps you should contact Stuit. Arrange our meeting on your ship."_   
  
"Very well. We'll be waiting to beam you both aboard. Janeway out."  
  
Harry cut the transmission, and Kathryn turned to face Chakotay. "He knew just where to hit me." She paused. "Of course, the last time I let you go off on your own on a damned wild goose chase, you ended up getting captured by Seska and the Kazons."  
  
Chakotay smiled and quietly said, "True, but we both know that if you had to do it all over again, you wouldn't change a thing."   
  
"Captain." Harry sounded almost sorry to interrupt the private conversation. "Both generals are ready for transport."  
  
Kathryn nodded her permission and Harry signaled the transporter room. "Mr. Paris, you have the Bridge." She headed for the lift, with Chakotay and Tuvok following close behind.  
  
#  
  
"Captain Janeway..." Stuit looked around uncomfortably. He looked resigned to his fate. A glazed look on his face masked any emotion the general might be feeling. Bacaras stood looking at the ground, while the young male standing next to him looked around, apparently intrigued by everything he saw.  
  
Janeway glanced at Chakotay, then stepped forward to greet her two guests. "Generals. We'll use the briefing room for our discussions."  
  
Bacaras smiled slightly. "Thank you, I appreciate this. I have brought all the information we need. But perhaps General Stuit would like to see his daughter first?"  
  
Stuit shook his head. "No. My shame would only compound hers." He looked around the transporter room sadly. "I shall, of course, ask that my crew be granted their freedom. They were following my orders." He glanced at Janeway, then Bacaras. "But I would prefer to not surrender to either of you..."  
  
Janeway felt totally confused. "You're not here to surrender. Bacaras assured me that we are here to discuss the best way to prove the truth about Molán..." She stared at Bacaras, her hands on her hips. "Unless..."  
  
Bacaras smiled. "I did not deceive you. This is a council of war. And since there is to be no surrender, perhaps the general would care to visit his daughter first, before we get down to business?"  
  
Stuit looked at his friend, a smile of comprehension appearing on his face. "How is she?"  
  
"She has made remarkable progress. Physically..." Kathryn took a deep breath. "She has been through hell, and she's still too terrified to speak."  
  
Stuit looked at his hands. "The carrion eaters are too good for whomever did this...I _shall_ see my daughter. Afterwards. When I can show myself with pride and honor. When I can say that I have had my retribution." He walked toward the door, with his head high and a dangerous gleam in his eye. Janeway growled to herself. Stuit's daughter needed him now, not later.  
  
"General, we can wait," Janeway said. "Your daughter needs..."  
  
"I'll see her afterward." His brusque response made it clear he would not change his mind.  
  
The younger male who'd come with Bacaras glanced at him. After Bacaras nodded, the young man said, “Captain Janeway, I’m Mowal. _I_ would like to see Jauria.”  
  
Janeway stared at Bacara's son for a second. “Very well. I’ll arrange an escort to sick bay.”  
  
#  
  
Trish Gallagher looked at the door as it swooshed open. The Doctor and a young Soman entered the room. She heard the gasp beside her and turned, just as Jauria started struggling to free herself from the monitors.   
  
“It's okay, Jauria,” she whispered, then turned to the young male alien and asked, “Who are you?”  
  
“This is Mowal, he is Jauria’s betrothed,” the Doctor said. The young Soman smiled.  
  
“Jauria?” _Maybe lovesickness is universal_, Trish thought. Jauria seemed to calm down and was looking at him, although she didn’t smile.  
  
“You can have five minutes with Jauria, Mowal. Ensign, I'd like you to remain, please. If my patient becomes agitated, the meeting will be over.”   
  
Trish stood and moved to the other side of the room while the Doctor went to his office.  
  
Mowal gazed at Jauria, then sat in the chair which Trish offered to him. Trish tried not to listen in as Mowal spoke with his betrothed, but it was impossible not to hear him. She approved of what he said, however. Mowal told her they would get through this difficult time; and then, once they were wed, they would have a very happy life together. While he spoke, Jauria just stared at the ceiling or the wall. Trish didn’t bother to look like she was working on something; she just watched the couple. She sincerely hoped everything Mowal had just said to Jauria would come to be. With a war going on, so much could go wrong.  
  
At the end of the visit, Mowal took one of her prosthetic hands and gently patted it. Jauria finally looked at him, with a vague smile on her face. He grinned back at her as he stood.   
  
“I must return to my father, but I’ll see you soon, my love.” He turned to Trish. “And thank you for taking care of her. She’s wonderful, isn't she?”  
  
#  
  
Chakotay remained silent as he watched Kathryn seemingly acquiesce, yet gradually manipulate the two generals, both of whom were so much bigger than she was. Chakotay had to admire her ability to dominate the meeting without either of the Somans apparently becoming aware of what was happening.  
  
"We have to take out Molán's Command and Control Center," Stuit said. "It will not be easy. The shipyard possesses exceptional security measures. I know, for I helped design them. Three ships will not be enough to overpower the facility. And my friend Bacaras is correct; we don't know which other officers we can trust enough to bring into the attack."  
  
"Agreed," Janeway replied. "But what if an alien ship with very interesting technology just happened to stumble into their shipyard?"  
  
Stuit shrugged. "It depends. A ship loaded with interesting alien technology would be welcome, but the crew would immediately be detained, questioned, and..." Chakotay understood the words left out of that unfinished sentence.  
  
"But Captain Janeway," Bacaras said angrily, "we need _Voyager_ for the fighting. We'll have to find another way."  
  
"Agreed. I wasn't thinking about _Voyager._ One of our shuttle craft might entice them enough to bring it into the facility. We could smuggle in a team that way."  
  
"They'll never get past the guards."  
  
She smiled. "Leave that to us. We have ways. General Stuit, if you would leave a copy of the facility plans for us, I'll have Commander Chakotay develop a plan for this phase. We'll need to establish a tight timetable. They'll have to reach the Command and Control Center within twenty minutes after their arrival. Our attack must follow very soon afterwards."  
  
"Twenty minutes?" Bacaras asked. Chakotay knew Janeway wouldn't provide any additional information about their plans. He also knew the Doctor would be extremely unhappy about the use of the Voth phase-shift cloaking devices, which Gegen had given to Chakotay as a parting gift, because of their debilitating side effects on mammalian physiology.  
  
"We'll contact you with the details soon." She glanced at Chakotay and nodded. "Good evening, gentlemen."  
  
After they'd beamed back to their ships, she sat down. "I want that Borg cube destroyed."  
  
"Stuit and Bacaras would rather it remained intact," Chakotay replied. "You're afraid that if they knew your plans, they wouldn’t cooperate with us." He snorted. "I agree. And if this Molán character is there?"  
  
"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know what their judicial system is like. Hell, I don't even know if what he did would even be considered illegal."  
  
Chakotay didn't bother to add that Molán probably wouldn't live long enough to face trial. Instead, he quoted, " 'If one good deed in all my life I did, I do repent it from my very soul.' "  
  
"Now you're quoting Shakespeare?"  
  
"I'm a man of many talents," he answered with a smile. "The good deed in this case being destroying the Borg..."   
  
"I don't regret doing that," she retorted.  
  
"That's not the impression you've given me many times before," Chakotay said mildly. "But yes, we have had to deal with the aftermath of that decision. The _Trefla_, the war between the Borg Resistance drones and those remaining loyal to the Queen...and now this. Whether we want to be or not, we will be suffering the consequences of this one good deed for a long time. And who knows what Starfleet will have to say about how we did it, and what has happened since then?"  
  
She nodded. "We won't know until we're facing that review board. All I've gotten from Starfleet so far is platitudes. The admiralty has avoided answering any of my questions, no matter how forcefully I word them. And in the latest data stream, Mom mentioned that the _Voyager_ Family Alliance has decided to become much more active. It seems Starfleet didn't bother to tell anyone about the slipstream--or deliberately chose not to--and my mother's very upset about that. She knows what that might mean better than anyone. After all, she was married to an admiral!"   
  
The fact that Kathryn still hadn't received a straight answer from Starfleet about what would happen to her crew once they reached the Alpha Quadrant was now more than simply frustrating. But, as she had reminded herself time and time again, she had to concentrate on just making it back to the Alpha Quadrant in one piece. As this situation with the Somans proved, that would be difficult enough.  
  
She was silent several seconds. "When we're through here, I don't think lingering in this vicinity would be a very good idea. While we could use more supplies, I want to put some distance between us and these warring factions. Have Astrometrics concentrate on searching for sources of supplies through long-range scans only." She shook her head and sighed. "And I need a plan of attack within the hour." She tossed Chakotay her PADD. "Here are the facility blueprints. Just remember..."  
  
"Twenty minutes. I know."   
  
"You'd better get going."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." He winked at her as he left. She shook her head as she walked to her Ready Room. She wished this was all a nightmare, and at any moment, she'd wake up and discover none of this had really happened. It was just too bad she was wide awake.  
  
#  
  
Chakotay glanced at Michael Ayala. "Might as well get ready."  
  
Ayala grinned. "I knew any plan that had you flying a shuttle was a bad idea."  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" A light started to blink. "We're almost within range," Chakotay said.  
  
Ayala nodded as he slid underneath the bench at the back of the lower compartment. Chakotay checked his phaser, then pushed the button that released thoron particles. It was an old Maquis trick that probably wouldn't fool anyone in the Alpha-Quadrant anymore, but in the Delta Quadrant, everything was new again. The light started to blink faster. He brought the ship out of warp and cut the engines. The goal was to look like a derelict ship. Tom had turned white when they'd applied scorch marks to the outside of the _Flyer_ to further the illusion.  
  
_"Alien ship,"_ a voice said. "_Identify yourself and prepare to be boarded."_  
  
"As you wish," Chakotay whispered to himself, then he took a deep breath. B'Elanna and Tom had both objected to the use of the _Delta Flyer _for this mission, but it had enough intriguing technology to make it a tempting target. As bait, it was the best thing they had. The _Flyer_ jerked suddenly. It had been grabbed by a tractor beam.  
  
Chakotay nodded in satisfaction as the shuttle was pulled behind a Soman cruiser. If anyone from the cruiser had decided to investigate the shuttle during the trip, the away team could have had a serious problem, but Stuit had advised them of protocols dictating that any piece of technology which came close to the station was to be dragged directly there. Fifteen minutes later, according to the chronometer in Chakotay's tricorder, he could see the shadow of the station looming over the _Delta Flyer_. Stuit's information had been correct. The Soman Democratic Union _was_ intrigued by the unknown technology of the _Delta Flyer_.  
  
_"Is anyone listening?"_ He could hear background conversation through the _Flyer's_ open comm system. _"Unidentified ship, please respond."_  
  
"Ayala, stand by," whispered Chakotay.  
  
"Standing--or rather--lying by."  
  
Chakotay smiled tightly as the _Flyer_ was dragged into the station's docking bay. He quickly compared the information from his tricorder with the plans Stuit had given them. So far, everything checked out. Chakotay set the controls on the shuttle's door to open when touched by someone on the outside. After another quick glance at his tricorder, he moved further into his own hiding place.  
  
"Only three guards are approaching," he informed Ayala.  
  
"Good. I like those odds," Ayala said. "But tell them to hurry up, I'm getting cramped up in here."  
  
The door opened noisily, and three heavily armed Soman guards entered, weapons at the ready. Ayala fired from his hiding place at the same time Chakotay fired from his. All three quickly fell.  
  
"Engage the phase-shift cloaks," Chakotay whispered as he stood. "We're now on the clock. Twenty minutes."  
  
"Great. A lot of people are looking this way," Ayala whispered, as they met at the open door.  
  
Chakotay nodded to Ayala, and they jumped out of the shuttle and jogged as quickly and quietly as they could to the corridor leading to the station's Command and Control Center. The away team could see each other through the cloaks, even though the Somans could not, but if anyone bumped into them accidentally, they could fail to complete their mission.

#  
  
"Ten minutes," Harry said. Janeway just nodded. The waiting was always the worst part of any plan like this.  
  
"Advise Generals Bacaras and Stuit we will jump to warp in two minutes."  
  
"Aye, Captain," Harry replied.  
  
She tapped her fingers on her armrest twice. "All hands, battle stations! Lieutenant Paris, take us in, Warp 5."  
  
#  
  
A sudden babble of voices rang out from behind the two men as they traveled down the corridor.   
  
"I think they've found the three guards," Ayala whispered.  
  
"Took them long enough,"Chakotay answered.  
  
A dozen Soman soldiers ran by, forcing the away team to move close to the wall. With all the noise the soldiers made, the soft scuffling of the _Voyager _officer's feet as they walked carefully in signal file was completely obscured. Chakotay could barely hear Ayala, even though he knew he was following directly behind him. Peering down the corridor, Chakotay could see the two men guarding the doorway to the Command and Control Center.   
  
As he checked his chronometer again, he said softly to Ayala, "Straight ahead. I'll take the guard on the left. We have five minutes left."  
  
The guards standing outside the door didn't know what hit them; they just fell to the ground.   
  
Chakotay rubbed his fist and murmured, "Hard head." He rummaged through the pockets of the nearest soldier and smiled. Pulling out a card, he slid it through the magnetic reader. _I hope Stuit was correct about the number of Soman soldiers on the other side_, Chakotay thought, as the door slid open.  
  
"What?" The Soman commander turned to face the open door, which seemingly had opened of its own accord. "Run a diagnostic on the door," he ordered his aide as the door slid shut.  
  
Five phaser blasts later, Chakotay disengaged his phase-shift cloak. Ayala appeared a second later.   
  
"Lock the door," Chakotay ordered, as he pushed an unconscious soldier off the console he needed to access. "_Voyager_ should be here in two minutes." He punched in the commands needed to disengage the station's communications and sensors. In the meantime, Ayala dragged the stunned Soman commander over to the console. When the computer asked for command identification, Ayala placed the commander's hand over the pattern. Three chirps sounded, indicating Chakotay's change orders had been accepted.  
  
"Now, we wait," Chakotay said. They'd chosen not to bring the bulky phase rifles along. Keeping them hidden beneath their cloaks had seemed too difficult; but right now, Chakotay wished he had one.  
  
#  
  
"Fire on the lead ship, Commander. Take out their weapons!" Janeway ordered, as _Voyager_ flew over the station. She stepped down from her command chair to stand behind Tom at the helm. As soon as they'd passed the station, she said, "Now, Mr. Paris. Set a course for that Borg cube. Standby all weapons."  
  
The Borg cube filled the viewscreen; its shields were down. "Target all weapons on the tractor beam aperture location. Blast a hole through it, then target the cube's central core. Fire when ready." She noted that the fighting was quieting down behind them.  
  
"Captain," Harry reported, "General Stuit's ship has docked on the station."  
  
"Damn," she muttered to herself. That hadn't been part of the plan. "Notify Commander Chakotay that Stuit's ship is there."  
  
#  
  
Chakotay and Ayala were about to step into the corridor leading back to where the _Delta Flyer_ was located. They both slid to a stop at the sound of weapons' fire from around the corner and closed the door to the station's command center. Chakotay glanced at his tricorder, which had been loaded with the station blueprints, and frowned.   
  
"Any ideas?" he asked Ayala.  
  
"I suppose going around will take too much time?"  
  
Chakotay nodded. "I agree. Away team to _Voyager_."  
  
_"Voyager here. Commander?" _Harry's voice asked.  
  
"We're cut off from the _Flyer_."  
  
_"Understood. Prepare for transport."  
_  
Through the windows in the door, they saw several phaser blasts hit the wall of the corridor across from them. The two men crouched on the floor and looked around warily, searching for a place to conceal themselves until the corridor was clear. There wasn't any. They could hear shouts and running feet. When the door to the center opened suddenly, they saw a dozen Soman troops run by, with several others in close pursuit.   
  
General Stuit strode into the Command and Control Center with his weapon raised, yelling, "Molán! You can't hide from me forever!"  
  
He stopped when he saw Chakotay and Ayala. "Ahh, Commander Chakotay, there you are! Your ship is secure. I would have my men accompany you, but they are too busy now." Stuit strode out of the Center and began to shout again. "Molán!"  
  
_"Voyager to away team,"_ Harry's voice said.  
  
"Chakotay here. General Stuit is pursuing Molán."  
  
_"So I guessed,"_ Janeway cut in. _"Get into the Delta Flyer and get out of there."_  
  
"Aye Captain." Chakotay looked in the direction Stuit had gone. He was about to say more, but when he heard weapons' fire, followed by screams and more shouting, he signaled to Ayala, and the away team sprinted to the _Delta Flyer_.  
  
They heard another agonized scream from their rear which cut off suddenly in mid-cry. And then, silence.  
  
**  
  
**


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**  
  
Jauria leaned against Tricia Gallagher and stared at her father when he appeared on the transporter pad, along with Bacaras and his son Mowal. Janeway had hoped the girl would say something when she saw him, but she remained silent.  
  
Almost as soon as the transporter's whine had ceased, Mowal jumped down and approached his betrothed. He held his arms out to her; and she moved forward, accepting his embrace. The young man whispered something in her ear, so softly, only she could hear him. Jauria looked into his face, and a ghost of a smile appeared on hers. Then she looked back at the transporter pad. The angry stare was back.   
  
Janeway knew a glare when she saw one, and it was quite clear that Stuit was its recipient.  
  
As the pair stepped down from the platform and walked up to Janeway, Stuit shook his head sadly and said to Bacaras, "I would understand if you wish to cancel the engagement."  
  
"No. Our two families have been friends for generations. Now we will be united by blood," Bacaras replied. "Mowal and I have already spoken of this. The wedding _will_ happen."  
  
Janeway managed to maintain a neutral expression. Ever since Stuit had slashed Molán's throat, barely an hour earlier, she'd been eager to leave this area of space far behind. She smiled politely, but Jauria's angry expression brought a frown to her face. She waited, but the girl still didn't speak.  
  
"Thank you, Captain Janeway," Stuit said. "Without your help, the crimes against my sons and my daughter would have gone unpunished. We would like to depart now."  
  
"Very good," Janeway said, with a quick nod to Ensign Gallagher.   
  
When Mowal turned towards the transporter pad, with one of his arms still around Jauria's shoulders, she didn't move. She stayed right where she was, next to Ensign Gallagher.   
  
"It will be all right, Jauria," Trish said to her. "Mowal will be with you."   
  
"Would you like me to come with you to your father's ship? I would be happy to visit with you for a little while. Our fathers' ships will be traveling next to each other for some time."  
  
Janeway thought the girl still seemed reluctant to leave _Voyager, _but then she gave her fiancé a tiny nod. Before Jauria moved away, however, she reached one of her new hands out to Ensign Gallagher and placed it into hers, just for a moment. The expression on her face was still painfully solemn; but when the field medic whispered, "Good-bye, Jauria. I will miss you," a light shone briefly in the other woman’s eyes in answer. Jauria gave another small nod of the head and stepped away, hanging onto Mowal's arm, and followed her father onto the transporter pad. The position she assumed, quite deliberately, Janeway thought, was about as far from her father's as she could get without falling off the platform. She made sure that Mowal was between her father and herself. A second later, the three vanished in the twinkling lights.  
  
Bacaras observed the interaction of his son with Jauria and her father, but he remained silent as the others left. Just before he took his place on the pad to return to his own ship, he said, "Captain Janeway, you do not approve of Stuit's justice. I can see it in your eyes."  
  
"No, I don't," she answered truthfully. "But I can understand his motivation. What will you do now?"  
  
"The Empire will take advantage of our disarray and attack us. With the Borg no longer a threat, any chance of peace is gone. There is no hope for the Soman Democratic Union."  
  
"Isn't there? Until someone tells the Empire what I shared with you about the demise of the Borg, they won't know there's little danger from them at this point. Don't be so quick to write off any chance of settling your differences peacefully," Janeway said. "All it takes is one person to start the process." She smiled at Bacaras, hoping he realized the person she thought that should be. "Farewell, General."  
  
Bacaras nodded thoughtfully as he said good-bye. She activated the transporter, and he too vanished.   
  
She touched her combadge. "Janeway to the Bridge. Let's get out of here, warp 6."  
  


FINIS  


**Author's Note:**

> Up Next: Two "Voyager Olympics" stories:  
A prelude, "Out of Action," in which some of our characters overdo their practice sessions, and  
"Olympian Efforts." The Games finally begin, although some members of the crew participate in a different event than anticipated.


End file.
